Saga of a house from lot to finish

Saga of a house from lot to finish
Two years and counting, a diary follows a builder's struggle to build and sell a house that started with an imperfect lot with wetlands and a propensity for cave-ins. In hindsight, it was an
omen. Cliff Fetner planned to clear trees from the 2-acre lot in Lattingtown where he was starting work on what would be a 5,500-square-foot cedar-sided home. A tree-clearing company was hired, and all was set to go. Then it snowed several inches. It wasn't until a week later in January 2004 that the trees could be removed. But this would be only one of the problems - including hitting water - that he'd face in building the house. As large tracts of undeveloped land have become scarce on Long Island, builders have increasingly been doing in-fill development: building on the scattered lots left in fully developed areas, said Robert A. Wieboldt, executive vice president of the Long Island Builders Institute, an Islandia trade group. Some lots never attracted developers because of apparent problems, such as slopes. Even experienced builders' costs can escalate in overcoming such challenges, Wieboldt said. But as vacant land becomes scarcer, "the difficult site is becoming more common," he added. For Fetner, president of Jaco Custom Builders in Hauppauge, the Lattingtown lot's challenge was that nearly half of the 2-acre lot sits on wetlands. There was the potential of striking water when holes were dug. Plus, in addition to the usual building approvals required from government agencies, he would need approval from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.The lot hit the market in 2001. Fetner made an offer "in the 6's" based on an appraisal of $900,000. "For me," he explained, "it was worth buying at a discount." The contract, signed in April 2002, came with the proviso that the sale wouldn't close until the approval process ended and a building permit was in hand. That process took a year and a half and cost $36,275, "all on property that I may not have purchased," Fetner said. Nearly an acre was "flagged" as wetlands that had to be left untouched. Finally, in October 2003, Fetner had his building permit and closed on the purchase.He started the project without a buyer, building "on spec" because most people can't envision from plans what a home will look like when it's finished. In addition, construction moves faster when there's no buyer making changes.But because real estate markets can change overnight, Fetner wanted to find a buyer while the market was still hot in 2004. He listed the not-yet-begun home with associate broker Debra Quinn Petkanas of Daniel Gale Associates in Locust Valley for $2.3 million.Fetner, a third-generation builder who has completed more than 30 custom homes in the past 12 years, said he hoped his experience and the research he did on the land would limit problems.He said the home should be sold and completed within six to seven months, barring more inclement weather than usual. But experience taught him to base his asking price on taking a year to complete the home because of unforeseen problems and costs.In reality, it took Fetner more than two years to finish the home. What follows is a diary of what occurred.2004March: "We've struck water!" The excavating contractor begins digging the foundation. When he returns the next day, 4 inches of water are in the 500-square-foot hole. He continues digging in another location, but still finds water. He and Fetner decide to go 1 1/2 feet below where the structure's footings will rest and fill the space with stone.The footings will sit on a stone bed instead of in a hole that could fill with water. Because a rainstorm leaves the site muddy, dry soil is carted in so a dump truck can get to the foundation hole and drop the stones.April: The cruelest month, weatherwise. It rains every day for 2 1/2 weeks. Fetner needs one sunny day for the site to dry out before he can bring in cement trucks to pour the footings. "I'm about a month behind schedule," Fetner says. Finally, on April 21 trucks bring in the concrete.May: Waiting, wondering. The foundation is in, waterproofed and backfilled. Because April's rains delayed work into May, the framing contractor is backlogged. He promises to come soon. Fetner calculates that striking water while digging the foundation added $65,936 in unexpected costs.June-July: Cesspool problems. With the framing company still not in sight, Fetner instead brings in a firm to install the cesspool. A hole is begun, but it caves in an hour into the digging. Fetner tries another spot 15 feet away. Water is struck 24 feet down, and the hole caves in again. The cesspool can't be installed the traditional way.Instead, he must use heavy-duty support rings to prevent cave-ins. These are wider and stronger than the cesspool rings and are stacked one on top of the other as the hole is dug, keeping the hole from caving in. Then the standard concrete cesspool rings are placed inside and the heavy-duty rings removed.The revised method takes longer and costs $40,000 more. It also requires a week to get the materials. In mid-July the framer arrives. By month's end, the foundation is finished and most of the first floor framing is done.August: Uneventful with one exception. The weather is cooperating, and the framing is done. Fetner also meets with Petkanas, the real estate agent. Once the shell is complete and windows, roof and trim are on, Petkanas will hold an open house because buyers will have something to see.One new problem, however: Due to a Long Island Power Authority policy change, Fetner must now get a DEC permit before utility lines can be brought onto the property. The permit will take time to get, and because of the wetlands it will cost thousands of dollars more than usual to bring in lines, he says.September-October: Initial interest. The roof, plywood sheathing and trim work are done. Plumbing and window installation is under way. As October ends, Petkanas brings the first interested buyer to Fetner. No sale.November: A weather-tight house. The DEC finally amends Fetner's permit so electricity can be brought in. But he's told it will be months before the lines can be run.Meanwhile, as the window installation wraps up, work begins on the exterior cedar shakes. The home is now weather-tight, and Fetner is four months behind schedule. Petkanas holds an open house, which "is unsuccessful," Fetner says. But a strong market and rising prices let him increase the home's price tag to $2.495 million.December: Steady progress. The plumbing and insulation are completed, and the village building inspector looks the work over and declares everything up to code. The wallboard contractor can begin.2005January: A new year, a new problem. The contractor installing the cedar shakes is not showing up, and his completed work is poor. Fetner fires him and hires someone else.A Jan. 22 blizzard delays things two days. In addition, the house is still without electricity. Fetner wants to place the meter away from the structure. But because of the wetlands and a change in village code, it must be attached to the house.February: Progress slows. The wallboard is spackled and the cedar shakes are 99 percent done. But Fetner procrastinates on picking kitchen cabinets and counters because, he says, "I hate doing that myself." He says he's hoping a buyer is found to make those decisions.March: Still no electricity. The electrical lines are in, but the power isn't turned on because of the long and complicated process of installation and approval. Fetner can't start the wood trim because it would crack in an unheated space. Little work is done as he begins negotiating with two potential buyers.April-June: Hold, please, for the next available buyer. The electricity is finally on, allowing the plumber to install the boiler, but everything else remains on hold. One set of buyers falls through, but Kathy Wallach, an associate broker from Daniel Gale's Locust Valley office, finds another interested couple in June.Fetner is giving the couple until the 30th to sign a contract. If it isn't signed by then, he decides, he'll select the kitchen himself to avoid further delays.July: Houston, we have a buyer. Three weeks into the month, Wallach's buyers sign a contract for the $2.495 million asking price. They will pick the kitchen and other finishing touches. "It's great to have a buyer," Fetner says. The home should be done in the fall, he adds.August: Waiting again. The buyer leaves for vacation, returning at month's end.September: Progress. Ceramic tile, vanities and other items are selected and installed. By month's end, the only thing left to choose is the kitchen cabinetry which takes six to eight weeks to arrive, Fetner says.October: Moving along. The heat is turned on and interior doors, trim, crown molding and wood floors installed. The buyer still hasn't finished picking the kitchen components. Fetner also finds that despite record rains, no water comes in the basement. The extra money spent on the foundation and cesspool has paid off.December: Decisions made. The buyer's choices are ordered. "Now I'm crossing my fingers and hoping everything comes in correctly," Fetner says.2006January: "It's not the blue I picked." The tile contractor begins and is 90 percent done throughout the house when the buyer says the blue stone tile chosen for the master bathroom - and not yet up - is the wrong color.Everything stops while the contractor looks into getting the right tile.February: Kitchen cabinets, tile and paint, oh my! The kitchen cabinets arrive and are installed in a day. The painter is still not finished, however, because the buyer has not finalized color choices.As for the master bath tile, the supplier maintains the right color was sent. Six boxes are opened and spread around the floor. Because they are a blue stone, the color fluctuates.Once the buyers see this, they agree the color is in "an acceptable range of the sample they saw in the showroom," Fetner says.March: Toward the end. The last bits of plumbing and painting are finished, and the building department issues a certificate of occupancy.A closing date can be scheduled. There will undoubtedly be things the buyer wants corrected after moving in, but for the most part, Fetner's days at the house are ending.And how did Fetner fare? Although a builder's profits vary, many typically net in the 10- to 15-percent range, said Wieboldt, of the Builders Institute.Although a final accounting hasn't been done on Fetner's project, his profit should fall within that range, he said."I was fortunate that the market was still going up [throughout construction], so I was able to raise the price and cover all the extra costs."